Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: 'W' would give Hamilton boost toward IRL crown

BRIAN HILDERBRAND is a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. His motor sports column appears Fridays. He can be reached on the Internet at [email protected]. For the latest in the world of auto racing, check out the Sun Racing web site at http://www.lasvegassun.com/sports/ racing/

Davey Hamilton went into last year's Indy Racing League season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway second in the series points battle, a scant 10 points behind eventual champion Tony Stewart.

The Las Vegas resident once again finds himself embroiled in the IRL points race. Hamilton enters this weekend's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway fourth in points, 14 behind series leader Scott Sharp.

If he is again to contend for the series championship at Las Vegas, Hamilton said he knows precisely what he has to do in the two races leading up to the Oct. 11 Las Vegas 500K.

"Right now we're fourth and we know we have to win a race to win the championship," Hamilton said. "The way the point structure is right now, it pays so much more to win a race than (to finish) second on back, meaning we have to win.

"If we win one race, it'll put us in contention to win the championship."

The IRL points race was shuffled last weekend when it was announced that Team Menard drivers Tony Stewart and Robbie Buhl had been docked 15 points each following the Radisson 200 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. It was discovered during a post-race inspection that the Menard cars raced with illegal rear wings.

As a result of the penalties, Stewart was bumped from first to third in points, allowing Sharp and Kenny Brack to move ahead of Stewart.

Hamilton finished fifth at Pikes Peak after leading the race for 38 laps midway through the 200-lap event. It was Hamilton's fifth top-five of the season.

"You just keep wondering what it's going to take to win that (first) race," said Hamilton, who has never won an IRL event. "I know I want it very, very bad, this team wants it, the sponsors, the owner, the whole program.

"A different thing beats us each time. It's just not easy, so when I get that win, it's going to be a dream for me, really."

* NASCAR: Seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt and his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., will race head-to-head for the first time when the series visits Japan for an exhibition race in November. Father and son will race Chevrolets sponsored by Coca-Cola; the elder Earnhardt's red Monte Carlo will feature the familiar Coca-Cola script while Junior's black Chevy will feature the company's trademark Polar Bear. "My dad is the reason I am in this sport and he's someone I have always looked up to -- not only as my dad but as a great race car driver," the younger Earnhardt said. "It might really be weird the first time I try to pass him on the track -- if I get a chance to pass him -- but it's something that will be exciting for both of us, I'm sure." The race also will be special for Earnhardt Sr. "I got one exciting time racing with my dad (the legendary Ralph Earnhardt) and it was pretty neat," he said. "It is exciting to see Dale Jr. grow into the sport and it will be a great experience to race him in Japan. However, it wouldn't look very good for him to beat his good old dad now, would it?" ... Jimmy Spencer will make his return to the No. 23 Winston/No Bull Ford in this weekend's Farm Aid on CMT 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Spencer sat out the past two weeks after sustaining a concussion during the Brickyard 400.

* CART: Team Rahal driver Bryan Herta, who started his racing career in go-karts at the age of 12, has purchased a portion of the Las Vegas Karting Center in Sloan. "The center will host a number of national karting events as well as establishing a first-class karting school," Herta said. "Many of our current CART drivers -- Richie Hearn, P.J. Jones, Alex Barron, Alex Zanardi and Max Papis along with myself -- came from karting and made it to championship cars. That's like going from Little League baseball to the Major Leagues. We want to help develop more young racing talent at our center." ... The surprise announcement earlier this week that Papis will be leaving the Arciero-Wells Racing Team at the end of this season has sparked rumors that Papis will replace Bobby Rahal in the Miller Lite Reynard/Honda in 1999. Rahal is retiring at the end of this season and, as the team owner, actively is looking for a replacement. Rahal has had talks with Las Vegas' Jimmy Vasser and Henderson's Hearn about the position. Papis only said that he asked out of his commitment with Arciero-Wells "to pursue other opportunities" in racing. ... Zanardi can clinch the 1998 PPG Cup if he can take an 89-point lead out of next weekend's Molson Indy Vancouver. Zanardi leads Target/Ganassi teammate Vasser by 80 points. Zanardi (six) and Vasser (two) have won eight of the 14 races this season.

* IRL: The CBR team has hired Roberto Guerrero to drive its G-Force/Infiniti for the remainder of the season. In his debut with CBR, Guerrero qualified 10th for the Radisson 200 at Pikes Peak -- tying the best qualifying effort by an Infiniti in an IRL event -- and was running fourth when ignition problems forced him out of the race. ... Kenny Brack became the first driver to win two consecutive IRL races since Arie Luyendyk won two in a row, including the Indy 500, in 1997. Brack also is the third driver to win two races this season, joining Tony Stewart and Scott Sharp. ...Luyendyk became the first driver to reach the $3 million mark in IRL career earnings with a $33,000 payday at Pikes Peak. Luyendyk now has $3,019,653. ... The winning car from the 1916 Indianapolis 500 will be the official pace car of the Las Vegas 500k, to be held Oct. 11 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Owned by Lindy Bothwell Jr., the two-seat 1913 Peugeot was driven by Dario Resta of Peugeot Auto Racing. It had a top speed of 84.001 mph in the 21-car event.

* BACKMARKERS: Las Vegas' Mike Tieman hopes his knowledge of his hometown desert, combined with having drawn the first starting position for his Chevrolet Trophy Truck, will help make him a contender in the SCORE Las Vegas Primm 300 desert race Saturday, Sept. 12. Tieman was the first of three local racers who drew the first starting spots: Henderson's Lonny Helmbolt will start second in his Dodge D2500 and brothers Ed Herbst and Tim Herbst will start third in their Ford F-150. "To use a familiar term here in Las Vegas, the drawing for starting position is strictly a crap-shoot, just like rolling the dice in a casino," said Tieman, a machinist who is completing his second full season of racing in the featured Trophy Truck division. Nearly 20 racers from Southern Nevada have entered the Primm 300. Besides the front-running Trophy Trucks, other area racers include the third racing Herbst brother, Troy Herbst, Henderson's Bekki Freeman and her older brother Kenny Freeman Jr. and Las Vegas' Brian Collins. Nearly 150 vehicles, competing in 16 classes for cars and trucks, will begin taking the green flag at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12.

Dana Young, who drives the streets as a Citizens Area Transit bus driver during the week, will take his talent to the drag strip Saturday night, heading National Hot Rod Association/Craftsman ET action at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Young moved to the Pro ET points lead Aug. 8, taking his second victory of the year in a '63 Chevy II. He now has 469 points, 10 more than second-place Doug Schneider and 51 more than Jerry Holly. William Dudley, who has three victories, heads the Street ET with 514 points. John Sparrow has recorded three triumphs to lead the Sportsman ET category and Leo Shaver leads the Motorcycle Division. Gates open at 4 p.m., with eliminations slated for 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children 6-12, seniors and military. Also scheduled will be the National Performance Eliminator category. ... IMCA Modifieds, dwarf cars and street stocks will run tonight on the LVMS half-mile clay track. Gates open at 5 p.m., with racing scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors, military and children 6-12. Children under 6 are admitted free.

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